It is known that the design of the belt structure has a decisive influence on the abrasion pattern on undriven truck tires, especially when the latter are used in long-distance traffic including a very large proportion of straight line driving. A conventional practice is, for example, the use of a “diamond-pattern tire belt”, typically including four plies, the steel cords of which form an angle of 16° to 20° with the circumferential direction of the tire and the plies of which are applied in such a manner that the steel cords cross alternately. Another typical tire belt for truck tires is the “triangular-pattern belt” including four plies, wherein the steel cords in the first, radially innermost belt ply form an angle of 50° to 65° with the circumferential direction. It is furthermore customary for the orientation of the steel cords in the individual belt plies to be designated with an R for a rightward leaning slope and with an L for a leftward leaning slope relative to the circumferential direction. A typical sequence is RRLL with an angle of 50°, for example, in the first (radially innermost) belt ply and an angle of in each case 18° in the other belt plies.
A tire of the type described above has been disclosed by DE 10 2006 020 933 A1. The reinforcement members of the first, radially innermost belt ply form an angle of 50° to 65° with the circumferential direction. The second and third belt plies have reinforcement members which each form an identical angle of from 16° to 20° with the circumferential direction. The fourth belt ply has a very large angle with respect to the circumferential direction and is between 50° and 90°, preferably between 70° and 90°. The sequence of the arrangement of the reinforcement members from the first to the fourth belt ply is RRLR. This special belt alignment ensures that shoulder abrasion is reduced and significantly slows the formation of free-wheeling grooves or tramline wear.